Georgia Driver's Licenses

Special issues for non U.S. citizens

February 15, 2008

The Georgia Department of Driver's Services (DDS) is only permitted to issue Georgia driver's licenses, permits or identification cards to persons who can prove they are lawfully present in the United States.  Licenses will only be issued for the period of authorized stay in the U.S.   

This is what you need to know:

• If you are not a U.S. citizen, you must make an application for a license (or license renewal) in person
  
• You must present ORIGINAL documents reflecting your identity, residence in Georgia, and authorized stay in the U.S.  This will generally include your passport and your I-94, with any extension document.
  
• You may apply to renew your license up to 150 days before it expires.
  
• Driving in Georgia on an expired license, or without a license, is a crime.  The Georgia legislature is considering legislation to make it a felony!
  
• As of January 1, 2008, the Georgia Department of Driver Services confirms through SAVE that a non citizen is lawfully present prior to issuing a license or permit.
  

SAVE

"SAVE"  is the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program established by the USCIS.  Its purpose is to verify the legal status, and eligibility for certain benefits, of persons in the United States.   The USCIS maintains a database which is available to agencies, including the Georgia Department of Driver's Services - SAVE.

Unfortunately, the USCIS does not maintain its data in a single real time database.  Rather, the USCIS uses a variety of legacy systems - many of which do not communicate directly with each other - or with any single database.  Many USCIS systems are still essentially manual - with information entered into data bases after the fact.

These many databases - of varying completeness and accuracy - are periodically uploaded to SAVE.  The result is that the SAVE database is often out of date, often inaccurate and always incomplete.

SAVE and your driver's license

The Georgia DDS will query the SAVE database when you apply for a license or license renewal.  If your lawful entry into the United States can be verified through SAVE, the DDS will examine your documents to determine how long you are permitted to remain in the U.S.  If the SAVE system shows a period of admission shorter than your documents - the documents are supposed to control.

If the DDS issues you a license with a shorter period of validity, ask to speak to a supervisor.  DDS regulations are that SAVE controls determining if your are lawfully admitted to the U.S. - but your documents determine the validity of your stay for driver's license purposes.

If your presence cannot be confirmed through SAVE, a copy of your documents will be made and forwarded by the DDS to the USCIS for confirmation.  You will be asked to return to the DDS in 10 days to check on the progress of your application.  If confirmation is not obtained at that time, you will be asked to contact the USCIS directly to obtain verification of our status.

It can take 30 days to verify that your presence is lawful through the DDS/USCIS normal processes.  

The SAVE system is still new to many at the DDS.  Recently system glitches resulted in many inquires being returned as "not found" - when the applicant was in fact in the SAVE database.  We are advised that these have been remedied.

What you can do to avoid/mitigate problems

• Apply for any license renewal early.  Regulations of the DDS allow you to apply as early as 150 days prior to the expiration of your current license.
  
• Take the proper original documents with you when you apply for your license or renewal.
  
• Insist - as much as possible - that your license be issued for the full term of your admission in the U.S.  (If your  status does not have an expiration - e.g. student with F-1 d/s - your license will only be issued for one year.)
  
• If you are not in SAVE, consider making an appointment through the USCIS INFOPASS system.  You will want to request that DDS complete Form G-845.  You will want to take a copy of that form with you to the USCIS office.

If you still have problems, you can contact an attorney for additional help.   We have some contact with the DDS and with the SAVE office of USCIS.  However, we cannot guarantee that we can successfully solve these problems in the time frame you need.

An alternative

Georgia Law provides that compliance with SAVE is required for issuance of a driver's license to a noncitizen. Ga. Code 40-5-21.2.  However, Georgia law also provides that "notwithstanding any other provision" of the law dealing with licenses, a temporary license may be issued to a noncitizen to has valid documentary evidence of their admission to the U.S. in a valid, unexpired nonimmigrant status.  Ga. Code 40-5-21.1.

If your status cannot be verified through SAVE, you can  request a temporary license under this provision.  However, our current experience is that temporary licenses are NOT being issued.

Let us know what is going on.....

We would like to keep abreast of what is happening in this area.  Please let us know about your experience in applying for a license or renewal.  Please let us know if you had a problem, if you were able to resolve it - and how.

Jay Solomon

      (b) A driver's license or identification card issued by any state or territory which, on or after July 1, 2006, authorized such driver's license or identification card to be issued to persons not lawfully present in the United States may not be accepted as evidence of legal presence in the United States.

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